What are the Greeks/Americans thinking? Debt and mortgages

Well it’s down to the wire once again in Greece and the Greek politicians, once again, don’t seem to feel the urgency.

With a deal to bail them out of their financial woes already worked out, the Greeks say they need more time to sign it, according to the Guardian.

Greek prime minister, Lucas Papademos, a non-politician who was brought in to make the deal happen, had told decision-makers to make the decision by mid-day Monday, then that deadline was postponed until the afternoon, and then delayed to a meeting today.

German chancellor Angela Merkel is not pleased.

“I honestly can’t understand how additional days will help,” The Guardian quoted Merkel as saying. “Time is of the essence. A lot is at stake for the entire eurozone.”

Stay tuned on what the Greek leaders are doing, and the national strike in Greece that has ensued, with the Guardian’s live update.

Across the ocean, a company in Missouri has been criminally charged with 136 counts of forgery on foreclosure documents used to evict homeowners having trouble paying their mortgages. The company, DocX apparently executed and notarized millions of mortgage documents for banks and loan servicers, mass-producing signatures in a practice now known as ‘robo-signing,’ the New York Times reports.

DocX’s parent, Lending Process Services, has already been sued civilly in Nevada where it is claimed the company hired ‘surrogate signers’ and paid them $11 an hour to sign someone else’s signature on legal documents. One employee said she had signed 2,000 documents a day for months.

“The grand jury indictment alleges that mass-produced fraudulent signatures on notarized real estate documents constitutes forgery,” Chris Koster, the Missouri attorney general, who will prosecute the case, said in a statement. “Today’s indictment reflects our firm conviction that when you sign your name to a legal document, it matters.”